St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church

My 93.10 year old grandmother is a devout Catholic. Since last year, she can no longer walk unassisted, and I wake up every Sunday at 6:30a to bring her to her favorite church. Compared to other churches we’ve attended, the decoration is tasteful, there is an effort to some order, priests deliver mass well, and they have a special room to pray where the Holy Sacrament is kept.
There are some things that contradict all of this well organized tradition, The music is too loud, specially the man on the drums, the chorus has 3 females who sing off key, and one that should wear clothes appropriate for church. In my opinion, tight hugging dresses contradict all of the effort placed on so much order and tradition, specially when the chorus is right in front.
It’s beautiful when the music played complements all of the voices gathered, but when the music is more to show off the «band,» then the focus gets taken away from the faithful. When this happens, I try to focus on being at peace and having my grandmother happy, but this would mean turning the other way like everyone else who just stands there, not singing, not being part of the amazing moment of sharing a joyful moment.
I asked one of the priests why they don’t have books to follow along with the chorus, he gave me an answers that didn’t address my question. He said, there is music in the people, and the people have music. Another lady by the door told me to «buy» the book myself outside.
Today, I had to use the restroom, and they had one toilet seat cover dispenser by the entrance. I really had to wash my hands after and found that the only two soap dispensers were not working but had a small top lid open. My only choice was to dip my fingers to get soap. Once outside, I wanted to report this, and I was directed to the lady that sells candles. Her reply was dismissive, and she said the public steals anything they put out and break the dispensers. When I asked what their final solution was to fix it, she told me to dip my fingers like everyone else does.
Still outside, I asked a second lady wearing the church colors and identifying herself as a worker/​helper, and her response was the same. She even added that she brings her own soap and suggested I do the same. When I stated that her solution was great for her, but that it was unhygienic, she walked up close to me and diverted my question by questioning my faith and telling me if this was the reason I came to church. Other ladies near her, wearing similar colors, just stood and listened. One brave one addressed my concern stating that because the dispensers are broken, she doesn’t wash her hands.
I felt the second lady’s response was inappropriate specially since she represents the church. A simple reply would have been to acknowledge my concern and tell me that it would be addressed with the parish. I hope this doesn’t describe the treatment of our people, but I hope this church realizes they have a duty to keep their dispensers in working order.

I used to frequent this church when I was younger, and I used to love praying the rosary with the old ladies before the 5:30pm mass. It reminded me how my grandmother taught me to love and how to pray the Holy Rosary. Today I came to 7:00pm mass (Spanish) with my dad since we were in the area. The church isn’t as big as other neighborhoods’ churches but it is a great option to come to receive mass if you’re in the area. They have a few parking spots in front of the entrance but there’s also the parish parking lot accross the street.
They mostly offer Spanish masses as the majority of local parishioners are Hispanics, and the only English mass is daily at 9:00am. I am pretty sure they also have a bilingual service certain days so if you’re intered you should always check out the church’s website.

This has been my church since I was born. From my baptism, communion, confirmation to my brothers doing the same and my own parents marrying at this very church, it makes me feel at home. It has comforted me in times of despair and has been good to my family in times of grief. The sacerdote’s here are very friendly and honest and they went out of their way to preside over my recently deceased uncle. Come here if you want to be in a loving setting and have faith in an easy setting.

I love my cleaning lady, Maria. She’s like a aunt to me and she treats me like one of the family. She invited me to a beautiful wedding at this church. It was in Spanish. My Spanish sucks. It was here that I learned that the word «novia» means both girlfriend and bride. There isn’t a distinction between the two in Spanish. Let me tell you something, there is a HUGE distinction to the boyfriend or the groom.
The dress code at this church is very lax, if there is a dress code at all. Don’t worry about wearing your Sunday best. You could even go in shorts and fit right in.
If you go to a wedding here, go hungry. There’s going to be plenty of street vendors around selling food that smells delicious. Or go to the Greek restaurant across the street.
Parking sucks, but where does it not suck in LA?